The Trojan War in Encyclopedic Literature: The Case of Lambert’s Liber Floridus, ms. Ghent, University Library 92

Abstract

The article aims to analyze how the Trojan literary cycle was inserted in the encyclopedic work of Lambert of Saint–Omer, titled Liber Floridus, which survives in the autograph manuscript in the University Library of Ghent, 92. In the Liber, there is a specific chapter devoted to the Trojan War where Lambert copied a version of Dares Phrygian’s work. Without creating a new version, Lambert gives the narrative a whole new structure, adding indexes at the end and other paratextual elements, providing an encyclopedic treatment of the matter to facilitate learning. However, the presence of the Trojan War is not limited to this specific chapter, since we can find references to the war and the city in other sections, namely chronologies, lists of rulers, geographic chapters, and maps. The Liber Floridus shows that the fall of Troy was perceived by Christian intellectual culture as a milestone in human history. Therefore, the Trojan War must be understood as a pagan element integrated into the discourse of the History of Salvation (Historia Salutis), playing a key role in Lambert’s eschatological message.